1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to quick connectors and, more specifically, to quick connectors including a removably insertable retainer for coupling the male and female components of the quick connector together.
2. Description of the Art
Snap-fit or quick connectors are employed in a wide range of applications, particularly, for joining fluid carrying conduits in automotive and industrial applications. In a typical quick connector, a retainer is fixedly mounted within a bore in a housing of a female connector component or element. The retainer has a plurality of radially extending legs which extend inwardly toward the axial center line of the bore in the housing. A male component, such as a tube or fitting, to be sealingly mounted in the bore in the female component includes a radially upset portion or flange which abuts an inner peripheral surface of the retainer legs. Seal and spacer members as well as a bearing and a top hat are typically mounted sequentially in the bore ahead of the retainer to form a seal between the housing and the male fitting when the male fitting is lockingly engaged with the legs of the retainer.
While such a retainer is usually effective in releasably coupling the male and female components of a quick connector, it is possible that the male fitting may be partially, but not be fully seated or coupled to the internal seal elements in the bore of the female component and not fully locked in position by the retainer legs. In this partially engaged position, the male fitting may work itself free of the housing thereby causing leaks in the fluid delivery system.
It is an essential object of every quick connector to ensure that the male and female components are fully coupled together to prevent leaks. In order to attain this object, retainers have been designed for quick connectors which ensure a positive sealing engagement between the male and female components of the quick connector and/or which provide a visible indication that such a full sealing has been effected. However, in order to meet this essential object, the retainers have become complex in design and cost and/or the use of an additional component, such as an indicator clip, has been required to provide the desired visible indication of full sealing between the male and female components of the quick connector.
In constructing a typical quick connector, the various seal and spacer members, which include two spaced, elastomeric O-rings, an intermediate spacer disposed between the two O-rings, an endmost bushing and an opposed endmost bushing or top hat, are mounted in a stepped portion of the bore in the housing of the female component. This has required the use of a mounting tool, such as a so-called "stuffer pin", as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,787. The various seal and spacer members are mounted on the stuffer pin in the desired sequential, axial order before the stuffer pin is inserted into the bore in the housing of the female component. After the endmost bushing or top hat snaps into an undercut or notch in the housing, the stuffer pin is removed. In such an arrangement, the various O-rings, spacers and bushings typically have the same inner diameter such that during insertion of the male component or fitting into the bore in the housing, the end portion of the male component sequentially contacts the top hat, the first O-ring, the spacer, the second O-ring and then the opposed endmost bushing. Each top hat, bushing, spacer and, in particular, the O-rings present a certain amount of resistance to insertion of the male component which creates sequential increasing peaks in insertion force necessary to fully insert and seat the male component within the bore of the housing of the female component. This sequential, increasing resistance to insertion is felt by the installer and may cause a false indication of full seating of the male component within the female component due to the magnitude of such resistance to insertion.
Further, in a typical quick connector, it is common due to manufacturing tolerances for the male component to exhibit a certain amount of axial movement within the bore of the housing of the female component, even when the male component is completely locked within the bore by the retainer. In certain applications, such as vehicle air conditioning connections, such axial movement could lead to a leak.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a quick connector for use in fluid connections which provides a positive latch of the male component to the female component of the quick connector. It would also be desirable to provide a quick connector in which the resistance to insertion of the male component into the female component is exhibited at a single insertion force peak. It would also be desirable to provide a quick connector which minimizes axial movement of the male component within the female component when the male component is fully locked to the female component by the retainer. It would also be desirable to provide a quick connector in which the various seal and spacer components may be easily mounted in the bore of the female component without the use of a separate insertion tool.